Disclaimer and Foreword: Tenchi Muyo! and its characters are copyrights and 
trademarks of AIC, Pioneer, and whoever else may own the rights to it, so please 
don't sue me (it's not like I have any money anyway :P).  However, this story is 
my original creation and is copyrighted by me. Please don't copy it and claim it 
as your own. 

	I would like to thank I.LOVE.RYOKO for his help in writing this chapter 
(namely the dialogue in the latter half of the story).  This is my first attempt 
at writing fanfic, so any criticism, good or bad is welcome. Send any messages 
to kingvegeta80@yahoo.com.  I am also known as SSJ4 Raditz and (in chat rooms 
only) as Demarax.  Now enough with the pleasantries.  On with the fic. 
	
	

	"Bonds"

	Chapter 1, "The First Night"


	"Mama, please release me!  Mama!  Don't leave me here!  Don't leave me 
behind, please!  I don't want to be alone!  It's dark and scary," Ryoko cried.  
Her mother, Washu, who was watching her little Ryoko with a video camera, had 
her tied up in the subspace laboratory.  Left in the dark and bound by various 
cables, wires, and restraints, Ryoko was feeling scared out of her mind.  She 
was also left wearing nothing but a red tank top, which made her feel cold as 
well as scared.  She hated the cold, and even more so, she hated being alone in 
the dark.  These things reminded her of the cave she had been sealed in for 700 
years, the years before she first saw young Tenchi.  Tenchi; after such a long 
dark night, she finally found something, someone, who made her happy.  Though he 
was only aware of her when he was a baby, Ryoko was content in watching Tenchi 
grow up in front of her eyes.  And then there was the day he freed her from the 
cave, and she was finally able to be with her T!
enchi.  But now Ryoko was left in the cold darkness again, and there was no 
Tenchi to keep her company.  She had been in the lab for about an hour now, but 
it felt like forever.  She wanted to be with Tenchi so bad now.  "Tenchi," she 
cried out weakly.  "Tenchi.  Please help me. Tenchi!"

	Tenchi bolted upright from his sleep.  "Ryoko?"  He thought that he heard 
her calling his name.  He looked over at his clock.  It was 12:37 a.m.  Looking 
back out into the dimly lit room, he called out again.  "Ryoko?  Is that you?  
Hello?"  There was no response.  Tenchi shifted over to sit at the edge of his 
bed.  "I guess I was dreaming," he said to himself.  But then he heard it again.  
"Tenchi."  It was Ryoko's voice, but it was like a whisper in his head and not 
an actual sound.  The voice also sounded sad and panicked.  Tenchi started 
feeling worried.  "Something's wrong," he thought.

	Back in Washu's lab, Ryoko was still crying for Tenchi.  Washu, still 
observing her daughter, started feeling a little sorry for Ryoko.  Conjuring up 
her little holo-computer, Washu began tapping a few keys.  The lab brightened up 
quite a bit from the near-total darkness it had been in for the past hour.  "I 
guess I should release her now," Washu said, pressing a few more keys on the 
board.  The restraints holding Ryoko released their captive.  The space pirate 
fell to the floor with a dull thump.  Ryoko got to her feet and tried to get her 
bearing right, momentarily disoriented from her emotional distress.  "You're 
free now, Ryoko," Washu thought to herself.  "Go to your Tenchi."  Ryoko spotted 
to lab's entrance and made a mad dash towards it.

	Tenchi was about to get up and find out what was wrong when he heard a 
door slam open downstairs, followed by the sound of someone running up the 
stairs and down the hallway towards his room.  There was some knocking on his 
door, accompanied by some muffled sobbing.  "Tenchi?  Are you awake?" Ryoko 
called out in a soft, quiet voice.  Tenchi stood up and walked to the door.  He 
slid open the door, revealing Ryoko's shadowy form on the other side.  He 
couldn't make out any details due to the darkness, but it was obvious that she 
was upset from the choked crying he heard.  

"Ryoko?  Are you okay?  What's wr-," he was cut off when Ryoko reached out and 
wrapped her arms around him.  She was surprisingly gentle, especially compared 
to the usual aggressiveness of her embraces.  He also noticed that she was 
shaking like a leaf.  "Ryoko. What happened?  Are you alright?" Tenchi asked 
with concern.

	"Washu left me alone in her lab.  It was so cold and dark in there.  I 
hated being alone," Ryoko said as she continued crying into Tenchi's shoulder.

	"It's alright, Ryoko.  I'm here with you.  You're not alone anymore."  
Tenchi stroked the back of her head to comfort her for what appeared to be an 
emotional moment for her.  As he continued to caress the back of her head, he 
noticed how soft her hair was despite its hard and spiky appearance.  In all the 
months he knew her, this was the first time he actually paid it notice.

	After a few minutes passed, Ryoko's crying subsided.  "Are you feeling 
better now?" asked Tenchi.

	"Yes," Ryoko assured.  Her voice told otherwise.

	"Do you think you'll be okay tonight?"

	"Yeah," Ryoko said.  But despite her words, she continued to hold on to 
Tenchi.

	"Okay.  Well, let's try to get you to bed."  Tenchi grasped Ryoko's 
shoulders and pulled away from her embrace.  When he did, Ryoko's heart seemed 
to cry out so loud that he could hear it.  "Tenchi.  Stay with me," her voice 
whispered in his head.

	"Huh?  Did you say something, Ryoko?"

	"Uh, no.  I didn't say anything."  Ryoko was confused by the question.

	"Never mind.  I'll take you to your room."  Tenchi opened his bedroom door 
and stepped out into the hallway.  He motioned for Ryoko to follow him.  She 
reluctantly approached the doorway that separated Tenchi's room from the 
hallway.  She began to take a step out of the room, but as she did, she felt the 
cold loneliness that was in her heart return again.  It felt much worse this 
time.  "Ryoko?  What's wrong?" Tenchi asked, concern returning to his voice.

	"Tenchi, I'm sorry for asking, but can I spend the night here with you?"  
Ryoko's voice was shaky and nervous for fear of being refused her request.  "I'm 
still scared about being left alone and-"

	"It's alright.  You can sleep in here.  But only for tonight."  Tenchi 
came back into the room and closed the door.  He gave Ryoko another comforting 
embrace and led her to his bed.  "You can stay here tonight."

	"Thank you."  

	"You're welcome.  It's no problem"

Ryoko sat down on the edge of Tenchi's bed.  She reached over to get a Kleenex 
from the nightstand to dry her tear-streaked face.  Tenchi walked over to his 
desk and turned on the small florescent light so he could see better.  He then 
proceeded to grab a spare futon for himself from the closet.  When he turned 
around, he noticed that Ryoko was naked from the waist down.  He immediately 
blushed a bright red and faced away from Ryoko.

	In an unusual move by Ryoko, she grabbed Tenchi's bedsheets and covered 
herself up with them.  She, too, blushed a bright red.  She remembered all the 
times in the onsen, when her nudity scared Tenchi away.  As lonely as she had 
been feeling, she didn't want to risk that result again.

	"I'm sorry, Tenchi.  It's not really my fault.  Washu made me take them 
off so she could run tests on me.  I was so upset that I forgot.  I'm so sorry.  
Please don't leave," Ryoko pleaded.

	Tenchi looked back over to Ryoko.  Those last few words hit him hard.  
"I'm not going to leave.  Why do you think that?"

	"Well, you usually try to run away whenever we were in the onsen 
together."

	Tenchi laughed nervously.  "Heh.  Well, uh, that was different.  Then you 
always tried to... well, let's not get into it."  He leaned over and rolled the 
futon out next to the bed.  "Don't worry about it.  Let's just try to get some 
sleep."

	"Okay."  Ryoko lay down on Tenchi's bed and covered herself up.  She could 
smell Tenchi's scent on the pillows and sheets.  She felt so relaxed and 
comfortable.  It was more than enough for her to drift away into a blissful 
slumber.

	Tenchi laid back down into his sleeping location on the floor.  He sighed 
heavily as he looked over to Ryoko, who had curled up on the side of the bed 
that Tenchi was sleeping next to.  Her expression was so peaceful and quiet.  
Tenchi wondered how such a warm smile could also belong to a notorious space 
pirate.

	"She's not a space pirate anymore.  Besides, she was under Kagato's 
control when she was," Tenchi thought to himself.  Tenchi put the thought out of 
his mind.  Satisfied that he had helped a friend in distress, he resigned 
himself to sleep.

***

Tenchi blinked his eyes open slowly.  He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and 
tried to adjust to the darkness.  He looked up at the clock, which read 3:14 
a.m.  He tried to shift to a more comfortable position, but found that he was 
weighted down.  His eyes now adjusted to the dark he now saw what the problem 
was.  Ryoko lay almost on top of him, her head resting on his chest and her arms 
wrapped around him.

"Even with all that room, she still climbed in with me."  Tenchi sighed at what 
he should have expected.  He tried to free himself without waking Ryoko, but 
after a few unsuccessful attempts, he decided to give up.

"I guess I'll have to stay here until morning.  Oh well.  It won't be so bad."  
Tenchi closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep, but found it surprisingly 
difficult with Ryoko pressed up against him.  She was so close, but for once it 
didn't make him nervous.  Instead, he found her proximity strangely comforting.  
He could feel the rhythmic beating of her heart, the slow rise and fall of her 
chest as she took in each breath, and the warmth of her body.  Instinctively, he 
wrapped his own arms around Ryoko.  He gazed down at the placid look on her 
face.  It seemed to glow with joy from the warm embrace.  Overwhelmed by the 
emotion growing within him, Tenchi lowered his head and gave Ryoko a small kiss 
on her forehead.  "I think I'm actually starting to like her.  She's not so bad 
once you get to know her."  He closed his eyes once again, and after a short 
while, he fell back to sleep.


To Be Continued